Reina is a very attractive model who also co-hosts a driving television show named "Drive Go Go!" where the latests automotive trends are discussed. He also has tremendous adaptive ability and can learn to drive virtually anything. He was already a pretty accomplished racer with his old car, but behind the Devil Z, he's nearly invincible. He's regularly exposed to the active social scene at the heart of Tokyo. His day job is a waiter for a night club, but then got fired for showing up late too often due to late night racing. Like virtually everyone else in the manga, he has trouble forming intimate relationships, although he has made some slight inroads with Reina Akikawa. In fact, he is so serious that he skips school (to the point of repeating a grade) to drive the Devil Z. Still, despite his gentle demeanor, he's dead serious about racing.
Regarded as a legend on the Wangan, though he is actually a humble young man. He was driving his red Nissan 300ZX (Z31) until, after a humiliating loss to Tatsuya Shima, he discovered the "Devil Z", a Nissan Fairlady S30 Z (known as the Datsun 240Z/260Z/280Z in certain markets) which is supernaturally fast and extremely hard to drive. See also: List of Wangan Midnight charactersĪn ambitious racer who started when he was very young, Akio was in his final year of high school as the story began. The manga follows Akio's various encounters with people on the Wangan, though the central plot revolves around his constant battle with the BlackBird for Wangan superiority. This gives the blue Z the nickname "The Devil Z". Every person who takes possession of the Z ends up spinning out of control and crashing, as if the car is rebelling against its driver. He also finds that the one of the car's previous owners shares his first and last name, and had died in a horrible crash on the Wangan. He soon finds that the car is unnaturally fast due to a tuned L28 engine, bored and stroked to 3.1 L and fitted with twin turbos. The junkyard owner was told by the previous owner to scrap the car because it is cursed. Intrigued as to why such a classic Japanese performance vehicle is about to be junked, he convinces the junkyard owner to sell it to him. When he sees the damaged midnight blue Fairlady Z (S30) in the junkyard, he remembers seeing this car a few years ago with a nice girl in the passenger seat. Determined to become faster, he goes to the junkyard because his mechanic friend tells him he saw a wrecked Fairlady S30 just like Akio wanted. With his friend in the passenger seat and two girls in the back, Akio attempts to win, but is defeated. One day, Akio Asakura, a high school student in his last year of study, is driving his Fairlady Z (Z31) when he challenges Tatsuya Shima, a doctor, in his black Porsche 911 Turbo (964), nicknamed the "BlackBird".
Blown engines are also a frequent hazard, especially with the extremely high power engines. Because of this, the action is inherently hazardous, and wrecks are common. There is also road traffic to contend with, including a fair number of heavy trucks. The story gets its roots from the actual street racing that occurs on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway, one stretch of which is known as the " Wangan" - literally meaning "bay side" although it is generally used to refer to the freeway - the longest, straightest road in the entire country.